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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLYERS v BLACKHAWKS

May 29, 2010

Peter Laviolette

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Game One

Q. Hey, Coach can you give us your update on Boucher and his status for tonight?
COACH LAVIOLETTE: Brian Boucher will be in the lineup tonight.

Q. Is there anything -- many of your guys have not been through this before. Do you say anything tonight, anything out of the ordinary, or do you not like to do anything like that?
COACH LAVIOLETTE: You know, I've said before, there's so many meetings that go on, you know, and you try address everything and talk about everything so that you don't get caught off guard, you're not surprised by anything that may or may not happen tonight.
I think it's really important -- everybody is anxious. Everybody wants the games to take place, the puck to drop and play some hockey. The guys have played -- they've prepared a long time.
I made the mistake of saying we prepared for ten months. You guys prepared for ten months, eleven months, nine months, whatever. Last season left you. Ian Laperriere corrected me and said I've been preparing 15 years for this. Guys are ready for this.
They want to play some hockey. Anxious is okay. You don't want to be nervous. Nervous is something you don't want to carry around the ice. It will eliminate you from thinking properly. So anxious is good. Nervous is not good. Carter was dropped from the Series probably before he was 100%, with four days off. How much more effective do you expect him in this?
COACH LAVIOLETTE: I think anytime somebody comes back from being out of the lineup, and things continue to heal to a point where they're probably getting close to 100%, I think it's a good thing. You get to get on the ice and work on your game and practice; and it's not in those high-pressure situations and moments you can find in Game 5 elimination -- clinching game Series-clinching game.
So I think it's a good thing to get practice and have time continue. If you want to look for some positives for waiting four or five days, that would be one of them. Banged up players get a chance to heal.

Q. Just quick two-parter. Off that first goal, both teams 7-1 when they score first, and I know your team is certainly full of comebacks. Maybe the importance of that especially to set the tone in Game 1 of the Cup Final; and also do you see these teams as being kind of built the same as somewhat unknown goaltenders? You have some studs on defense and some real dynamic forwards up front.
COACH LAVIOLETTE: I think there's a lot of similarities in the teams. Their path was different than ours to get to this point. They had a real successful year. They were in the top of their conference all year. They go through the team that finished number one in four straight.
So they're definitely playing well right now. And you know, I believe that our path is different, but we certainly have earned the right to be here tonight with what we had to go through to get to this point.
So as far as the first goal, I think those numbers and records you just spit out there speak for themselves. You get on the board, you can grab -- you can either ignite your building or you can kill the building. And from there, there's a lot of hockey left after that one goal, unless it comes late in the third.
But typically when you score the first goal, it's a good thing, it's a positive thing. Then you still have a lot of work to do.

Q. Peter, you talked about nervousness and guys I think still had mentioned over the past couple of days that they'll have some nerves, they'll have some butterflies. Having been in this situation, how can you kind of help them channel that to something that could be a setback into something that could be a positive?
COACH LAVIOLETTE: You can't go in and wave a magic wand. The hype of the game is here, and it's Game 1, the Stanley Cup Finals. You wait your whole life to play it. The only thing you can do is talk about things and address things as a team. And again, I think that nerves, you want to stay away from that. We talked about all the things we had to do. The last thing we said was just relax. Go out and play the game. Because you have to be able to think, you have to be able to skate. These are talented hockey players out here. They have to be able to make plays. I think it's really important to relax.

Q. Pete, how important is it for to you see Brian back in the lineup after what he's done for this team late in the season? And obviously, in the early stages of the Playoffs?
COACH LAVIOLETTE: Certainly I'm happy for him that he's back. You never like to see anybody out with injury to get a goaltender who really carried us down the stretch and got us through the first round is like I said before -- the last half dozen or ten games of the regular season he was very good.
And then in the first round against New Jersey, I believe his numbers were the best in the league after Round 1. So when you lose that, you certainly welcome him back when you get that opportunity.
Again, when you put in a whole season's worth of work, you don't want to be sitting out the Finals. It's nice to get him back.

Q. Everything you've done with these players has been unconventional. I guess it follows that -- you're the first team I can remember that as you went further along you got healthier instead of more injured. The one year you lost Cole late into your Playoffs, have you ever had a situation where you picked up three, four players as you went on?
COACH LAVIOLETTE: That year we actually picked up Cole. He was out back in maybe a week after the Olympic break. He got hurt ten days after the Olympic break. He played in the Olympics. He came back and he got hurt. So he was out up until the last two games. We actually got him back at the end.
We certainly lost players along the way. I think when he came back, Dougie Waite, we lost him. That's just the nature of the Playoffs. Guys are willing to do anything to find success for their team. Injuries are part of it. They're certainly -- we're glad that we're in a position where we're getting players back.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Peter.
COACH LAVIOLETTE: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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